It’s never a good thing when the guys over at Yahoo! Sports have you in their investigative journalistic sites.

That’s where former Bengals CB Horace Smith finds himself tonight. According to Charles Robinson of Y!, NFL security is investigating whether Smith attempted to defraud three rookies of more than $350,000.

Smith was working as the director of college scouting for Woy & Willis Sports Group, a Dallas-based sports agency but apparently he was fired in February. The agency has since filed a lawsuit against Smith.

From the story:

The suit filed by Woy & Willis states that Smith allegedly took out loans “in excess of $350,000” using the players’ names without their knowledge – many at high rates of interest – then had the money directed into secret accounts with a brokerage firm in New York City, where Smith could access the funds for his own use. The suit also claims Smith engaged in “unauthorized and extravagant expenditures supposedly on behalf of players,” and misused two rental cars tied to the sports agency – one of which remains unaccounted for.

Three sources familiar with the NFLPA and league probes said investigators are also looking into a jewelry deal allegedly brokered by Smith, in which the players were offered custom jewelry at nearly double the appraised value. The items, which allegedly included high end Breitling watches priced at nearly $85,000 each, ultimately were not purchased by the players at the inflated prices.

That’s a brief preview for you. Read the rest of the piece. It’s quite interesting and troubling.